JOHN ASLANIDIS
JOHN, WHEN I THINK OF YOU, I THINK WRESTLING and then painting.
Wrestling was my other identity. I like wrestling in martial arts because it’s really brutal and hard. After moving to Melbourne in 1998 I trained in Aikido for nine months. I dabbled in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and in more recent years have been training in Thai boxing mainly for fitness.
You studied at City Art Institute (now UNSW Art and Design) in Sydney in the late 1980s. Have you ever thought about doing a research degree?
I wasn’t really interested in being in an institution again. I prefer doing research myself. I don’t like to frame my work within the context of conventional art history or having to continually validate what I’m doing.
What made you start painting?
I was always painting regardless of
